How to Decorate Your Home When Your Loved One Has Dementia

A home’s décor is part of its comfort, but for seniors with dementia, the wrong look can cause confusion and make a space less safe. In general, persons with dementia do best in a visually uncluttered environment where familiar things are kept in their usual places, and any changes are made carefully. Whether it’s normal or seasonal décor, it’s important to consider how any alteration in your space will be perceived. Here are a few tips by Home Care Baltimore for decorating when a loved one has dementia.

Make One Change at a Time

In the early stages of dementia, muscle memory is retained. This means that your loved one recalls how to perform certain simple tasks without conscious effort based on repetition and the familiar way they feel.

Sitting on a toilet, getting into bed, and walking familiar pathways in the home are prime examples, but seemingly simple changes such as adding a piece of furniture that alters the path a senior with dementia usually walks can cause surprise, fear, and confusion. If changes in décor are necessary, make them incrementally if possible, and let your loved one get accustomed to one change before making another.

Avoid Major Changes in Dining and Sleeping Areas

As a caregiver, you know that eating and sleeping are two things that are challenging for a loved one with dementia. Changes of any kind can be disruptive. Even those that elicit a positive reaction can be an issue in that they’re distracting. If changes need to be made in these areas, make them small and consistent. For example, if bedding or dinnerware needs to be replaced, avoid changes from solid colors to bright patterns, and keep the general color scheme the same.

Add Treasured Mementos

The term memento comes from the Latin word meminisse, meaning “to remember.” While it’s impossible to tell what kind of thoughts or memories an item will evoke, decorating with things of importance to your loved one like treasured knick-knacks and photos may bring them comfort and enhance memory.

Limit Holiday Decorations

For some loved ones with dementia, not decorating for the holidays can be a change in and of itself. For others, twinkling lights and large decorative items are frightening. Good choices to decorate with are family heirlooms that your loved one recognizes and small table baubles that are not fragile and can easily be handled. Food-shaped decorations should be avoided. They may be misconstrued as something to eat, and they present a choking hazard.

To avoid difficult physical and emotional reactions, decorate in small steps. Single items are best. If your loved one likes it, add more. If not, remove it.

Decorating a home you share with a loved one with dementia is challenging, but with patience, together you can find décor that is both appropriate and comforting.